Stevens boasts recognized face and two labels

When spotted on the street, Terri Stevens used to be mistaken for someone else.

When spotted on the street, Terri Stevens used to be mistaken for someone else.

She might have been called Beyonce, singer Jody Watley or even Michael Jackson (whom she spent nearly a decade impersonating for extra income).

These days, though, she's simply recognized from television.

"It's anywhere -- on the plane, shopping, in fitting rooms," said the 39-year-old Downtown resident. "I can be in a restaurant with a bunch of food in my mouth, and they still come up to me."

Stevens, a visual manager for Victoria's Secret stores, doesn't mind the extra attention she's received since appearing on Project Runway -- particularly when it highlights her locally produced couture, now sold in seven independent shops nationwide including Rowe in the Short North.

Her two labels -- a lower-priced line of clubwear called funkinbeautiful and the higher-end Michael Joseph collection (in honor of the King of Pop's first and middle names) -- are inspired by her global travels and a mishmash of musical subcultures.

The graduate of Columbia College in Chicago got her start working for designer Barbara Bates, helping clothe Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan and other celebrities. As word of her talent spread, she said, she received design requests from Patti LaBelle and Chaka Khan, among others.

Her busy schedule and a job with Levi Strauss & Co. later prevented Stevens from catching Project Runway until last season.

She was instantly hooked and inspired to audition.

On the show, Stevens quickly made a name for herself as a friendly, outspoken competitor who could sew without patterns and finish complex designs well before her opponents.

But after a team challenge in the ninth episode, working with fellow Runway contestant Keith Bryce to craft a dress inspired by an astrological sign, Stevens was eliminated.

The garment, Runway judges said, was tacky.

Stevens said a confluence of unseen factors -- including fabric that supposedly went missing as well as emotional struggles by Bryce -- unfairly affected the outcome.

Show producers, she said, told her that drama "had to play out on camera."

"A team challenge is the death of anyone," Stevens said. "I know I was one of the biggest competitors, but what can I do?

"I really try not to live life with regrets."

Despite pining for her Windy City home and jet-setting around the globe -- she met her husband while vacationing in Brazil, for example -- Stevens is enjoying her fame about town, where she's a regular at Union Bar + Food and the "Ladies 80s" party at Skully's Music-Diner.